Tragic Details About Today Show Star Dylan Dreyer's Life

Note: This article discusses fertility issues and miscarriages.

Dylan Dreyer became a household name by spreading herself across NBC, serving as a meteorologist, a co-host on "The Today Show," and filling in on various other broadcasts since 2012. When she isn't in front of the camera, she enjoys her life at home with her husband, Brian Fichera (a cameraman for NBC), and their three sons; Calvin, Oliver, and Russell.

The work-life balance became a bit too strenuous for Dreyer, ​​causing her to take a step back from some of her responsibilities. In January 2022, she announced that she would no longer be co-hosting the version of "The Today Show" that airs on weekends. "You know, I'm just watching that and looking back — I started in September in 2012 and I got married in October, so in the time I've been on 'Weekend Today,' I've gotten married and I've had three sons," she said during her last broadcast. She continued, "I really don't want to step away, I just don't think I can do six days a week anymore. The boys certainly keep me busy." We can't blame her for this desire to decrease her hours at the studio, especially after everything she's gone through to expand her family. Here are some tragic details about Dylan Dreyer.

Dylan Dreyer's three boys were born in 2016, 2020, and 2021, but it took a lot of work and a whole lot of heartache for the family of five to be complete. The meteorologist has been open about her struggles with secondary infertility, which is the inability or difficulty conceiving a child naturally after already having a baby.

Dreyer tragically found out that she was struggling with infertility when she suffered from a miscarriage in 2019. The diagnosis was rather unexpected because, as she noted to "Today," they didn't have too much trouble conceiving Calvin the first time around, but she was informed that her low egg count and excessive scarring from her emergency C-Section were likely contributing factors. Just as she was about to begin her IVF journey, she received a call from her doctor. "The day I was going to start my IVF, I had all my medicines, I brought it down to the Kentucky Derby with me," Dreyer announced on "The Today Show" in July 2019. "And the doctor calls and says, 'Don't take anything. You're pregnant!'"

After Oliver was born in January 2020, the Dreyers were trying for a third, but their misfortune in the past and the inability to conceive right away quickly deterred them. However, just as sure as she got pregnant with baby Calvin, "And then, of course, surprise!" dotted a proud Dreyer when she announced her pregnancy, once again, on "The Today Show" in May 2021.

Pregnancy would prove to be no easy feat once again for Dylan Dreyer, when her third son was born six weeks prematurely in September 2021, but luckily all of her children are happy and healthy. They were able to bring Rusell 'Rusty' home after about a week in the NICU, but the Dreyers were not anticipating his arrival this early. "There are no clothes clean, there's no crib in the house, nothing was planned. It's wild. I can't believe he's here," the co-host mentioned during a broadcasted virtual update on "Today."

The chaos didn't stop for the working mom of three once she brought baby Rusty home, though, as his early arrival overlapped with a career milestone. Her children's book, "Misty the Cloud: A Very Stormy Day," was released the same month Rusty was born, and instead of doing press while pregnant, she was doing interviews and meetings with a newborn. Though she was able to take a step back from her gig at "The Today Show," for maternity leave, she was not anticipating going back to work a mere two weeks after giving birth. Giving her some words of encouragement, her husband, Brian, emphasized to MSNBC in October 2021: "'The lessons you're teaching our boys by working as hard as you work will be a part of them forever.' He makes me feel better and less guilty about working. I'm showing the boys that you work hard to get the things you want." That's what you call a work-life balance.

For Dylan Dreyer, going through breastfeeding was nearly as difficult as ending breastfeeding. With Calvin, she noted that a doctor informed her that she was not supplying him with enough milk, as she was exclusively relying on breastfeeding for him. She said her "heart was broken" to People in 2017 when she was told she would have to feed him formula as well.

The journey wasn't quite the same with her second, Oliver, as Dreyer would come to realize. She made a post on Instagram memorializing her time breastfeeding (this was before she found out she was pregnant with Russell). She wrote that Oliver didn't take to breastfeeding, so she spent most of her time pumping this time around. "Pumping gave me such dysphoria...a feeling that wasn't really a depression, just a momentary fleeting feeling of hatred toward everyone and everything in the moment and a feeling of nausea that was sickening," she wrote in the caption.

Regardless of the obstacles that breastfeeding would provide, the TV personality would have a hard time saying goodbye after months of dedicating her whole routine to feeding her children. "With such a bad experience for a year I thought I'd be so ready to wipe my hands clean of all things breastfeeding related, yet it has been impossible to stop... Maybe it's because I know this is likely the end of this era in my life. A sadness that I'm moving into the next phase of my adulthood," she wrote. Luckily and rather unexpectedly, Dreyer would get pregnant again and wouldn't have to hang up the pumps quite yet. She posted a black-and-white photo of her feeding Russell in November 2021 with all the momma joy in the world.

Dylan Dreyer's oldest son, Calvin, was in severe pain for months, but thankfully, with a diagnosis came some relief. Speaking to People in May 2023, she recounted the pain her son was in that eventually led them to a doctor, including that he was having stomach aches, ear pain, and headaches nearly every day. "We ended up taking him to the emergency room overnight just because we thought maybe it's his appendix or something, so they did an ultrasound of his appendix, which looked fine," she said. "We took him to the ENT to check his ears, which were good. They thought he had molars coming in, but then he also had a weird rash on his head. If you moved his hair away to look at it, his hair would fall out in chunks."

The Dreyer family wasn't sure where to turn with the myriad of symptoms. Doctors eventually performed an endoscopy and found an ulcer in his stomach, which eventually led to him being diagnosed with celiac disease. This autoimmune condition doesn't allow the body to properly break down or digest gluten. Upon the diagnosis was a silver lining as they learned they could manage his condition and avoid symptoms by monitoring his diet. Dreyer explained that it was a lifestyle change but one that more than paid off. "Somebody did tell me in the beginning, 'The first couple weeks are going to be so strange and different," se said. "It's going to feel like you're not going to find a new normal but you do.' And once you do, it's pretty simple."

Dylan Dreyer and her husband Brian Fichera have experienced tremendous loss outside of their immediate family. In October 2023, former Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield died from brain cancer at 57. Five months later his wife, Stacy Wakefield, died from pancreatic cancer at 53.

Fichera honored the late couple with a post on Instagram after the news of Stacy's passing. The sweet pictures included Fichera with Tim and Stacy, and he captioned the post, "Heartbroken. A friendship I'll cherish forever and a family I'll love forever. Rest in peace Stacy. I miss you Timmy. Brianna and Trevor we love you," speaking to the Wakefield's two children.

Dreyer and Fichera are doing what they can to keep the Wakefield's legacy alive, including indulging into their world of sports. Dreyer posted video in January 2024 of her hitting the golf course and revealed in the caption who she was honoring. "A few months ago, we lost our dear friend #timwakefield. They honored him with his number on hole 18 at #hgvlpga. @fishlense and I had tears in our eyes when my ball landed within 10 feet from this tribute. We miss you every day Wake!!"